AWESOME
Pieter | Johannesburg | 02/27/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"
Yerself Is Steam is an album of sweeping anthemic bursts of rock that follow strange trains of thought. The opener Chasing A Bee is a symphony of skilfully applied distortion and rumbling guitar attack behind world-weary lyrics, leading up to an earthquake-like climax and then subsiding to the tune of a flute, leaving the listener breathless at its conclusion. There are also the majestic swirls of Coney Island Cyclone, the straight hard rock of Syringe Mouth and the intelligent piano, orchestral buildup and poignant lyrics of Blue And Black. Steam was a most impressive debut album that extended the boundaries of rock in daring new directions. Just be warned that this is not immediate music - it takes persistent listening to really grasp, let alone appreciate, its subleties.
"
Freak-out!
Cees van Barneveldt | Webster, NY USA | 01/13/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is psychedelic music at its best, totally crazy, chaotic, freaked out and whacky! According to Mercury Rev's own rumours they met each other first when they were all psychiatric patients at the same hospital, and that does not surprise me when I listen to the music. Anthemic and hypnotic numbers with wild guitar pyrotechnics, flutes and trumpets, and lots of effects create a musical maelstrom that makes your mind tumble. This CD totally captivates me when listening and really brings me in a rock concert mood. One of the indispensable psychedelic CD's of the nineties."